because of a tragic attack that cost the lives of 8 students
(this attack was preceded by Israeli attacks that had cost the
lives of 238 Palestinians.) Yet, in all the media attention,
little was reported about the kind of beliefs this school and
others often teach their students.
Accordingly, we have posted the excellent book
by Israel Shahak: JEWISH HISTORY, JEWISH RELIGION
on our website. Shahak, a survivor of Bergen-Belsen, was
a highly respected Israeli professor, endorsed by such
writers as Noam Chomsky, Edward Said, and Gore Vidal.
http://www.ifamericansknew.org
Shahak's information is profoundly unsettling, but it is
important to understand it if one is to fully comprehend
the conditions Palestinians are living under.
One of Shahak's major themes is that a great deal of
significant information is never translated from the Hebrew
into English. For that reason, he wrote this book.
Below is a short excerpt:
"My final, more general example ...
concerns the attitude of the Hassidic movement
towards non-Jews. Hassidism - a continuation
(and debasement!) of Jewish mysticism -
is still a living movement, with hundreds of
thousands of active adherents who are
fanatically devoted to their 'holy rabbis',
some of whom have acquired a very
considerable political influence in
Israel, among the leaders of most parties
and even more so in the higher echelons
of the army.
"What, then, are the views of this movement
concerning non-Jews? As an example, let
us take the famous Hatanya, fundamental
book of the Habbad movement, one of the
most important branches of Hassidism.
According to this book, all non-Jews are
totally satanic creatures 'in whom there
is absolutely nothing good'. Even a
non-Jewish embryo is qualitatively
different from a Jewish one.
The very existence of a non-Jew is 'non-essential',
whereas all of creation was created solely for the
sake of the Jews.
"This book is circulated in countless editions...
In Israel these ideas are widely disseminated
among the public at large, in the schools and
in the army. (According to the testimony of
Shulamit Aloni, Member of the Knesset, this
Habbad propaganda was particularly stepped
up before Israel's invasion of Lebanon in
March 1978, in order to induce military
doctors and nurses to withhold medical
help from 'Gentile wounded'.
This Nazi-like advice did not refer specifically
to Arabs or Palestinians, but simply to
'Gentiles', goyim.) A former Israeli President,
Shazar, was an ardent adherent of Habbad,
and many top Israeli and American politicians -
headed by Prime Minister Begin - publicly
courted and supported it.
It is easier to read this book in the print version, and we urge
people to buy it at local bookstore, or order it from the
University of Michigan Press
(http://www.press.umich.edu
titleDetailDesc.do?id=114956 ) or Amazon.
However, we are also making the text available online so that
it will be quickly available and easily searched.
(We are still in the process of adding the forward to the
second edition, written by Edward Said, the introduction
by Norton Mezvinsky, and proofreading this edition,
so please let us know if you notice any typos, etc.)
In addition, we recommend purchasing a companion book,
"Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel," by Israel Shahak
and Norton Mezvinsky. This is also excellent and highly informative: http://www.press.umich.edu
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